R3 Association of Business Recovery organises the 16th joint conference which takes place in London at the Ambassadors Bloomsbury Hotel. Mayday has interviewed Sebastiaan van den Berg, Lawyer at the Dutch law firm RESOR, member of INSOL Europe and one of the two Courses Directors of the conference.
Mayday : What is the program of the conference ?
Sebastiaan van den Berg : This one-day annual conference is at the “cutting edge” of the international restructuring sphere. Amongst others, it will include detailed cross-border case studies of two of the most important cross-border cases of recent years, Agrokor an agriculture specialist which is also the largest company in Croatia, and Steinhoff: a South African retailer with interests in France, US and elsewhere.
We will also speak about the attractiveness of United Kingdom versus the rest of Europe after the Brexit, with a panel session on the different approaches being taken in the UK and Europe in regard to pre-insolvency procedures, especially also in respect of the recently adopted EU Restructuring Directive. We will discuss whether London can maintain its leading position after the Brexit.
There will also be a panel discussion on the NPL landscape, the new tools to weather it and the new players entering the market. The New Legal Landscape for NPLs will consider the initiatives of the Commission and the ECB on provisioning and capital requirements and the proposed new credit servicers directive; the new players entering the market; and how all of these elements are affecting the investment landscape.
At the end a panel of specialists will consider the rise of European Commercial Courts; how they differ between jurisdictions; how they compete with arbitration; and what role they have to play in cross-border insolvencies.
Mayday : Could you tell us who is expected at the conference ?
Sebastiaan van den Berg : This is a conference which will address cross-border insolvency issues. All insolvency and restructuring professionnals who are involved in cross-border restructurings, whether they are lawyer, judicial administrator, financial advisors, lenders, distressed investors etc., are invited.
There is no need to be member of INSOL Europe or R3 to attend and we hope that French professionals will also be represented in order to join the various debates. Feel free to book now and please email courses@r3.org.uk.
Interview by Cyprien de Girval
